"The Famous Five" (1996) TV series

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Genre:

Family

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Children | Teenage Actress Playing Preteenage Girl | Based On Book | Kids And Family

Cast

Jemima Rooper	...	George (26 episodes, 1996-1997)
Marco Williamson	...	Julian (26 episodes, 1996-1997)
Paul Child	...	Dick (26 episodes, 1996-1997)
Laura Petela	...	Anne (26 episodes, 1996-1997)
Christopher Good	...	Quentin (18 episodes, 1996-1997)
Mary Waterhouse	...	Frances (16 episodes, 1996-1997)

Also Known As:

Enid Blyton's Famous Five (International: English title) (complete title)

Country:

UK | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Portman Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of De 5 og spionerne (1969)

A sort of reverse spoof of Comic Strip's Five Go Mad

This 90's series is on the whole very well done, although it's so fast paced as to be almost absurd, in order to fit the programme into a 25 minute slot. Within seconds of arriving at wherever it's supposed to be, the kids and Timmy have found secret passages/treasure/spies.

Some of the story lines become absurd in the way the bad guys behave, for instance, in one episode they simply allow the kids to wander about their grounds without giving them a good hiding, or tying them up.

As an adult watching this, it's impossible not to think of the Comic Strip spoof on the Famous Five, and it's almost like this 90's series, made a long time *after* the spoof is trying reverse spoof the spoof, if that makes sense. You half expect the baddies to say "blah blah blah", and they nearly do. When Timmy falls ill, you've an expectation that Julian will say, "Don't worry we'll get another." The difference between this version and the 70's one is this doesn't try to be contemporary, rather it goes for the nostalgia of the late 40's, early 50's, and so you can't throw a cry of "unrealistic dialogue" at it. One thing that drama producers in the 90's and beyond have got licked is getting young people to act, especially good is George, played by Jemima Rooper, who at 15 was considerably older than her portrayed character - if she looks familiar, it's because she was Bobby in a remake of the Railway Children.